We met at El Dorado Park in Long Beach for our brick clinic. As I was setting up my gear for my transition, I realized that my helmet and gloves were in the bottom of my pannier, sitting on the bed. A while ago, I saw a nasty bike wreck on the HB boardwalk, between two cyclist. The one not wearing a helmet, ended up on a backboard and taken away in an ambulance. I've heard too many stories of too many tragedies to fool around on a bike with no helmet.
We ran our first loop (1.8 miles) and then made the transition onto our bikes. I went through the motions of changing my shoes, and grabbed the bike and walk/jogged it to the street entrance. Once I had my transition time, I put my running shoes back on and ran a lap reverse of what the bike traffic was riding.
That second lap was tough. I had been running with Jen (new friend from our class--in a Long Beach ward. She is also 6'2.5"), who runs quite a bit faster than I do. Keeping up with her and maintaining a conversation, spent a lot of energy. As I left the parking area to start my second lap, a cyclist from class approached, I cheered her on. Each class member had a shout out by their own personal cheerleader. It wasn't long until I had completely lost sense of my own fatigue and was focused on them and their needs. I passed a group of women runners, going the same direction as the cyclists. A couple of cyclists from the group passed the women runners. I started cheering for the cyclists. When I passed the women again, on the other side of the loop (again when a cyclist was passing--with me cheering), they said, "you're just a cheerleader for everyone! That's so cool!" And they all started cheering for me, as I started cheering for them.
I took a shortcut across the grass, scattering geese (Canadian and a Beatrix Potter variety), and back to the starting point.
The ride ended and JE and I stood, talking with some of our new friends, about what to wear, about what to eat, about games (the board variety) and pancake breakfasts. This whole journey of training and learning has been really taxing and time consuming. But completely enriching.
Tomorrow... I'm working from 10-11. AM to PM. I would love to rant, but feel a need to wait until this thing sorts out. Hopefully that isn't too much longer. My horoscope, while not quite accurate, is somewhat telling: Matters pending with bureaucratic organizations will be cleared at last today. This will speed up a few of your projects. Agencies that may have been holding up your projects will be well disposed towards you now. This is your chance to get all that paperwork done as work is slated to be finished faster than usual at this time. Why wait to do something later that can be resolved here and now?
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